Opinion

Columns

MisCONceptions: To be strong abroad, we need to be strong at home

By Trent Bunker, Nicholas Rishi, João Ribeiro and Katherine Brown | October 17

The attacks last week in Israel are likely to drag the U.S. into another prolonged proxy war. President Biden has already indicated that the U.S. will provide ‘unwavering’ support for Israeli security. Before Hamas’ attack last week, the U.S. had already provided nearly $3 billion to fund Israel’s iron dome defense system. And with the war in Ukraine still showing no signs of ending soon, it is likely the U.S. will find itself further entangled with allies across the world. A growing number of Americans of various political affiliations have begun to question U.S. foreign aid to Ukraine, arguing the money could be better spent at home, closing our own border, reducing crime and uplifting the U.S. economy. If the U.S. government is serious about confronting threats abroad, it must maintain a united front at home and secure support for foreign aid by tackling the pressing issues that are at the forefront of many Americans’ minds.

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Guest

Op-ed: Leaving Medford

By Makram Bekdache | October 17

Freshly landed in Boston, I was sitting in an Uber heading for Tufts’ Medford/Somerville campus on move-in day in 2021. The COVID-19 pandemic was seemingly finally starting to recede after more than a year of being mostly stuck at home, and there I was halfway across the world on the cusp of starting my college education in the United States. Tufts had not been part of my initial shortlist, but I kept hearing increasingly good things about it. I felt it was starting to gain name recognition at my school and in my home country of Lebanon.

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Column

The Policy Perspective: Designing effective climate policy

By Keshav Srikant | October 16

On Saturday, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration declared thatSeptember 2023 saw the hottest global temperatures for any September everon record. This shift was partly due to El Niño, but also largely due to climate change. This heat negatively affected people across the world. Although July and August were not as hot statistically, record heat alsocaused many deaths and hospitalizations in the U.S. This is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the effect of human-caused climate change.

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Viewpoint

It’s Tufts’ turn to catch up; Tufts should offer students more than loans

By Kunal Botla | October 13

Tufts University is an expensive place to get your college degree — the fifth most expensive in the U.S. as of August 2022. Tuition is set at just over $66,000. After including the fees and expenses of being a student here, the estimated cost of attendance is a little over $88,000, becoming more than $90,000 for students in their third and following years. Tufts offers its students financial aid and states that in “making education affordable for exceptional students from all backgrounds, Tufts meets 100% of demonstrated need for all admitted undergraduates.” Tufts’ aid includes grants and loans, federal grants and loans and work-study awards.

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Viewpoint

Not-so uncharted waters: The frontline battle for the South China Sea

By Justin Solis | October 13

In 1942, General Douglas McArthur uttered the famous quote, “I shall return.” With that line, he left the Philippines. Following the U.S. retreat, the Philippines continued to resist the Japanese during the first half of World War II. This came at the cost of one of the least discussed, yet bloodiest prisoner-of-war events in history: the Bataan Death March. An estimated 20,000 Filipinos were killed in a brutal forced march of about 62 miles. The U.S. government waited almost two years to criticize the Bataan Death March, quickly referencing it in rousing propaganda. The repercussions of this decision are still felt today. Unless they are particularly interested in Filipino history, talking about the March to my peers often results in blank stares.

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Viewpoint

The Great American culture war

By Gretta Goorno | October 13

A blue-haired socialist with a giant septum piercing. A goateed right-winger donning a sleeveless tank and an American flag tattoo. Highly exaggerated and yet eerily similar. Despite thedivisive media coverage that paints America as ‘MAGA red’ versus ‘AOC blue’ and the popular acceptance of these divisions, the political climate is a morenuanced purple. 

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Viewpoint

The dangers of ignoring Ukraine’s neo-Nazis

By Ben Choucroun | October 13

The name “Azov Brigade” should be recognizable to anyone who follows the conflict in Ukraine. To Ukraine, it is a key military unit composed of motivated fighters who have resisted Russian aggression. To Russia, the Azov Brigade is a neo-Nazi terrorist formation. Both of these ...

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Editorial

Editorial: Tufts parents should beware of Facebook

By The Editorial Board | October 12

For some of you, this may be the first time seeing campus without the hustle and bustle of move-in day or the careful staging of a guided college tour. Parents and Family Weekend is special because you get to experience the true college life — except, perhaps, for the fraternity parties and coffee-fueled all-nighters.

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Viewpoint

So your closest grocery store is closing. What now?

By Justin Hong | October 12

Due to poor revenue, bfresh in Davis Square is slated to close at6 p.m. on Thursday. This marks the closure of the only full-service grocery store in Davis Square and the closest one for many Tufts students. The store’s closure raises the question of grocery accessibility and affordability.

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Column

Ukraine at War: The war-torn worlds of Ukraine and Israel in crisis

By Mariia Kudina | October 12

The Ukrainian media has been publishing in-depth coverage of the war between Israel and Hamas, as well as “end-of-the-day” summaries of key events of the last 24 hours. Some Ukrainian newspapers have been doing similar synopses of the main episodes of the war Russia has led against Ukraine since the start of the full-scale invasion. To state the obvious, observing two deadly wars happening simultaneously is unbelievable and heartbreaking.

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Viewpoint

College rankings aren’t just a number — they’re worse

By Dylan Tanouye | October 12

When U.S. News first began publishing its Best Colleges list in 1983, the number of young Americans enrolling in college was in the midst of an upgrowth, adding almost 10 million students before its 2010 peak. With these new prospective students looking for guidance on where to apply for college, the U.S. News rankings became a very influential way to determine where their tuition would best be spent.

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Viewpoint

New slow zones are another example of the MBTA’s failure in communication

By Liam Chalfonte | October 11

In what is a massively unsurprising turn of events, within the past month, long swaths of the Green Line Extension between the Medford/Tufts and Lechmere stations have forced trains to move at three miles per hour. What has the MBTA’s response been? Empty pacification.

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Viewpoint

Don’t blame third party candidates, blame our political system

By Sadie Roraback-Meagher | October 11

Since announcing his run for president in April, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has drawn criticism from the very party his family once dominated. His anti-vaccine stances, claims Democrats are censoring him and the praise he has garnered from right-wing pundits such as Steve Bannon and Tucker Carlson have earned him the title of “Conservatives’ favorite democrat”. Perhaps it’s no surprise that House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries referred to Mr. Kennedy as a “living, breathing, false flag operation.” Kennedy has ignored the majority of the Democrat base, opting instead to play to conservatives with appearances on Joe Rogan’s podcast and double down on his belief in COVID-19 conspiracy theories.

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Column

MisCONceptions: Peace in our times?

By Trent Bunker, Nicholas Rishi, João Ribeiro, Katherine Brown and Nicholas Femia | October 11

This past weekend, we saw more violence in the Middle East. Hamas, a U.S.-designated terrorist group that receives support from the Iranian government, fired thousands of missiles over the border of the Gaza Strip into Israeli territory, killing hundreds and injuring thousands. Israel has declared a state of war after the attacks.

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Viewpoint

What the Roman Empire can tell us about the GOP primary

By Toby Winick | October 10

As Republicans vie to earn their party’s presidential nomination in 2024, the lack of an incumbent president means there is a wide-open field with many candidates trying to assert their superiority. In this campaign cycle, Republicans are turning to new avenues to relate to voters and gain national appeal.

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Viewpoint

The Biden administration finally acknowledges the border crisis

By Kevin Golub | October 10

On Oct. 5, the Biden administration finally acknowledged a problem it has long denied and made the strategic decision to construct 20 miles of border wall in and near Starr County, Texas. According to the report written by Alejandro Mayorkas, United States secretary of homeland security, announcing this initiative, the “Rio Grande Valley Sector is an area of ‘high illegal entry.’” In fiscal year 2023, the Border Patrol encountered more than 245,000 entrants attempting to cross the border in the Rio Grande Valley Sector. Already, though, there is a disjointed message coming from the White House about the motivation behind this construction: Mayorkas says that the wall is necessary while Biden has claimed that the money cannot be reappropriated.

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Viewpoint

Tufts tuition, high interest rates and student loans

By Kevin Golub | October 6

College students in the U.S. have certainly had an interesting education experience: Many current students attended school through a global pandemic, navigating virtual classes and adjusting to a new version of socialization. The U.S. took drastic actions to combat the economic impact of the pandemic. The country is now starting to feel a series of economic aftershocks, particularly affecting students, which I believe is due to actions of both the Trump and Biden administrations.

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Column

Antisemitism Broken Down: Weaponization of the label ‘antisemitism’ hurts Jews and Palestinians

By Ben Choucroun | October 5

On Sept. 2, 50 neo-Nazis marched through the suburbs of Orlando, Fla., waving flags adorned with swastikas. In recent months, dozens of synagogues have been targeted with bomb threats and “swatting” calls. Canada’s parliament recently gave a standing ovation to a veteran of ...

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Column

Ramaswamy and the young Republican vote

By Trent Bunker, Nicholas Rishi, João Ribeiro and Katherine Brown | October 4

Watching Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy perform Eminem’s “Lose Yourself” (2002) in Iowa was a sight to be seen. Opinions on it varied. To outsiders, it might be seen as a candidate trying to fit in. To Eminem, it was the first and last time he wanted to see Ramaswamy performing his song. To me, Ramaswamy’s “shady” performance was an attempt at capturing a unicorn of sorts — that is, the young vote for the GOP.

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Column

The Policy Perspective: The pathway to affordable housing

By Keshav Srikant | October 2

As sophomores settle in at Tufts, many are already thinking about off-campus housing for next year. This happens for a reason: Housing in the Medford and Somerville area has gotten increasingly expensive, while still being difficult to find. There is no doubt that Tufts University and its students play some role in this, but this trend isn’t just occurring in Medford and Somerville — it’s occurring in many cities across the country.

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